


When You Fall

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Febuwhump [16]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Broken Bones, Gen, Horseback Riding, Hurt Elyan (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s03e12-13 The Coming of Arthur, Post-Season/Series 03, Protective Knights (Merlin), Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29143974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Leon is teaching the new Knights of Camelot to ride horses when Elyan gets thrown off
Relationships: Knights of the Round Table & Elyan
Series: Febuwhump [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134998
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	When You Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by LiGi

It was not infrequently that Elyan found himself jealous of his sister, and this was one of those times. Despite the fact that she was still a maid, and he was now a knight, at least as Morgana's servant she had learned how to ride a horse years ago so that she could accompany her lady on rides. While he had learned how to ride a little during his travels, he was by no means good at it, and Leon had decided to subject all of the new knights to a crash course in horse riding to make sure they were up to snuff. Well, all of them except Lancelot, who was still injured from retaking the castle from Morgana’s immortal army and sat on the sidelines with his arm in a sling watching them. He also seemed to be trying his best not to laugh at them, especially when Percival’s horse kept going backwards instead of forwards. The big knight stuck his tongue out at him in response. Elyan had been concerned briefly when he was knighted that he would stick out due to his love of pranks and his rather immature sense of humor, but clearly, he need not have worried.

“Can we concentrate please?” Leon asked with a world weary sigh. “You all seem to have managed to get your horses to walk, so why don’t we try a trot now? Elyan, you can go first,” he said, gesturing down the jousting range. “Just go to the end, turn around, and come back.”

“Alright,” Elyan agreed, touching his heels to the flank of his horse to urge her forwards. She jumped forwards before settling into a trot. The knight was just beginning to feel comfortable in the saddle at the faster speed when one of the decorative ribbons along the center banister of the jousting range fluttered free in the wind. His horse must’ve thought it was a snake, because she whinied and reared up onto her hind legs, throwing Elyan off. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, and his right arm was practically  _ screaming _ at him with pain. He barely registered Leon running up to grab the reins of his horse and get her under control, while Gwaine and Percival dropped down to their knees beside him.

“Elyan!” Gwaine shouted, way too close to his head. If he’d had a concussion, that would not have been pleasant. As it was, it still wasn’t particularly calming, which was what the thrown knight needed right now. He had to calm down, slow his breathing, get the pain under control.

“Did you hit your head at all?” Percival demanded.

“No,” Elyan managed to wheeze out. “Shoulder took the brunt of it.” The pain had faded slightly from the sharp stabbing of what felt like bone breaking to a duller throb.

“Do you think you can sit up?” Lancelot’s voice asked. When had he gotten there?

“I can try,” Elyan agreed, tucking his right arm into his chest to protect the shoulder and pushing himself up with his left hand. Percival reached out to support him with a broad hand on his back.

“Is anything else hurt, or just the shoulder?”

“There may be some other bruises, but I think the shoulder is all that’s- hey, wait, what are you doing?” Lancelot was taking the sling off of his own arm. “Don’t you need that?”

“I can have Merlin tie me another one later, and my arm is mostly healed anyway.” Elyan was pretty sure that was a lie, except the man hadn’t winced or anything while moving his arm, so that was a good sign he supposed. “You should at least wear this until Gaius can take a look at your arm, so you don’t hurt it any more by accident.”

It was a kind gesture, for Lancelot to give up something he needed for a friend he had met only a week ago, which was why Elyan didn’t protest more. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful. He let Percival help him put the sling on, and Gwaine helped him to his feet carefully. When he started to walk back towards the castle, though, he wasn’t expecting all of them to trail after him. Even Leon, who had been busy helping a stable hand tie up the horses, followed.

“Guys, I think I can make it to Gaius’s chambers by myself,” he protested.

“I’ve got to get a new sling myself, so there’s no reason I shouldn’t come with you,” Lancelot explained.

“And if you suddenly faint from the pain or an undiagnosed head wound, Lance can’t help carry you,” Percival added.

“Are you sure you won’t get lost?” Leon replied. “You all have only been knights for a week.”

Elyan looked over at Gwaine, expecting a similar defense from him. The long-haired knight shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, mate, I’m just in it to see Merlin.”

That drew a huff of a laugh from the injured knight. “So it’s not about you being protective over me at all?”

“Not at all,” Gwaine agreed with a twinkle in his eye that said he meant the opposite. It was strange to Elyan, how he could already read this man so well after having known him for less than a month. Maybe this was what the advantage to being a knight would be, since the disadvantages of battle wounds, horseback riding, and broken collarbones had already become apparent. Brotherhood, and all the slings and other support that came with it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear what you think if you want to leave a comment!


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